The ”recklessness” with which some South African lose their identity documents (IDs) is a concern, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Malusi Gigaba said on Wednesday.
He was briefing the media at the Union Buildings in Pretoria on the outcome of the meetings of the governance-and-administration cluster of ministries.
”Some people in South Africa have been applying for an ID five times a year,” Gigaba said.
He said it is something the department is ”going to have to deal” with.
In most cases when an ID is lost it is due to a person not taking seriously his responsibility to look after the document.
”In much the same manner that they protect their bank cards and their cheque books they must protect and secure their identity document,” said Gigaba.
A study conducted by the Human Sciences Research Council on behalf of the department showed that 1,75-million or 6% of the population aged older that 16 did not possess at bar-coded ID.
The study showed that most of those who did not possess an ID had lost it.
”It poses a lot of challenges, one being security. Where has it landed? In which hands has it landed?” Gigaba said.
He said the department is working on the introduction of the smart-card ID, which will replace the green, bar-coded documents.
It will be obligatory for every South African to own a smart-card ID. — Sapa